Special Features - Gorilla Kingdom

Bobby is incredibly important to the captive gorilla population because he was a rescue gorilla born in the wild in Guinea. Photo by Daniel Sprawson/ZSL.

Gorilla Kingdom
(03/04/07)

A brand new gorilla enclosure has offically opened at London Zoo, allowing visitors to catch a glimpse of some of the largest primates on the planet.

Gorilla Kingdom is a brand new £5.3m enclosure that has taken almost 18 months to build and is now home to a colony of western lowland gorillas.

Royal blessing

The enclosure is open to the public from 30 March after being officially launched by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on 29 March. It contains a gorilla tracking trail which winds its way around the African forest environment, interactive activities and exhibits about gorillas and the forests they inhabit.

Gorillas up close

Gorilla Kingdom consists of a large open island, surrounded by a moat, an indoor 'day gym' and a back den with caves and heated rock walls. Visitors have the chance to get close to the gorillas at the indoor enclosure and study these magnificent animals for real – a unique experience.

The kingdom's 6,500 square metre enclosure gives the gorillas plenty of room to roam freely with the indoor living space containing a cascading waterfall.

Three's company

Keepers hope that the new, wide enclosure will encourage the gorillas that live there to breed. Initially, three western gorillas will live in the closure - Bobby, a 23-year-old male and two females, Zaire, 32, and Effie who is 13.

Effie, who has recently arrived from Leipzig Zoo, has already had two babies. She has been introduced to Bobby and Zaire gradually. The zoo wants to recreate the social structure that exists in the wild - where a single dominant mature male - or silverback - has a harem of about five females.

The project means that the male gorilla, Bobby, will see the sky without bars for the first time since he was captured as a baby.

The gorillas will be joined on the island by four black and white colobus monkeys; two boys and two girls. You will also see monitor lizards and beautiful african birds.

Meet the animals

There are many other events and exhibitions at London Zoo and everyday visitors get the chance to watch the animals getting fed. Get down to the penguin enclosure for feeding time and watch them gulp down fish while listening to the keepers talk.

London Zoo is open every day except Christmas day and there are hundreds of animals to see while you are there.